Infor LN Purchasing in CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise

The 360° Overview for SKUs consolidates all product- and purchasing-related information into a single view—including direct access to orders, purchase agreements, inquiries, and delivery schedules. In addition, product-specific charts can be used, for example, to track on-time delivery, supplier performance, price history, or planned available inventory.

The 360° Supplier Overview provides quick access to supplier-related data and helps buyers manage relevant trading partners in a structured manner, while ensuring that information needed for coordination, negotiation, and evaluation is readily available.

Using the Order Volume Workbench, buyers can filter order lines that require attention—for example, when actions still need to be taken, data has not been confirmed, or there are backorder quantities. This transforms “email follow-ups” into a prioritizable worklist in the ERP system.

The Order Fulfillment Workbench focuses on execution: It displays order lines for which goods have not yet been received and that are due soon—or whose scheduled goods receipt date has already passed. This supports proactive delivery date management and reduces escalations in production or projects.

For project- or milestone-based procurement, Infor LN supports supplier progress payments: payments can be scheduled before or after goods receipt; the invoice flow is managed separately from the goods flow. The Supplier Progress Payment – Release workbench displays the progress payment items that need to be processed (e.g., due/nearing due date or items to be released) so that Purchasing and Finance can work in close coordination.

Purchasing requirements are generated automatically by the system based on:

• MRP runs from corporate planning
• Work breakdown structures
• Service orders
• Inventory planning
• Direct deliveries from sales

This links procurement directly to production and project logic. Requirements can be managed as planned, project-related, or directly linked to customer orders. Changes from planning or projects have an immediate impact on existing purchase order proposals. As a result, purchasing remains constantly synchronized with MRP and project adjustments.

For project-based procurement, Infor LN enables:

• Specific reservation of materials
• Assignment of purchase order lines to project structures
• End-to-end cost tracking
• Transparency regarding outstanding commitments

Infor LN supports parameter-based approval workflows:

• Approval based on amount, item group, or project
• Multi-level approvals
• Separation of requester and approver
• Change requests following approval
• Complete audit trail

Approvals can also be controlled through budget checks, tolerance parameters, or organizational role models. All approvals and changes are logged in an audit-traceable manner.

Orders can be generated automatically from MRP or project requirements. Multiple requirements can be consolidated without losing their project assignment.

Each order line can be assigned to a specific project. Open commitments are visible at all times.

Infor LN supports:

• Outsourcing of individual production steps
• Outsourcing of complete products
• Supply of materials to subcontractors
• Feedback to production
• Automatic cost allocation

Outsourced processing can be generated directly from work plans or production orders. Material transfers to subcontractors and confirmation data are automatically fed back into the cost and project structure. This ensures full transparency even for outsourced value-added steps.

Orders can be processed as direct shipments. Consignment or VMI scenarios can also be integrated.

The audit is based on a comparison of:

• Order Details
• Goods Received
• Invoice Received

Tolerance checks, multi-currency support, and automatic journal entries ensure financial security.

Incoming goods can be tracked using inspection statuses. Materials can first be posted to a blocked or inspection stock before being released for production or a project. Discrepancies in quantity or quality can be recorded as supplier complaints and resolved through returns or credit memos. This ensures that procurement is managed effectively not only logistically but also in terms of quality.

Infor LN Purchasing is fully multi-currency capable and offers flexible exchange rate rules. This enables you to reliably manage international suppliers, different currencies, and cross-location purchasing structures, including transparent cost and budget analysis.

Infor LN combines objective performance metrics (e.g., on-time delivery, quantity variances, prices) with subjective evaluation criteria. This results in comprehensive supplier evaluations that take into account not only price but also reliability and quality.

During the request-for-quote process, quotes can be compared based on price, total cost, or individually weighted criteria. The evaluations are transparently documented and can be directly incorporated into purchase orders, contracts, or price lists. This ensures that decisions are always traceable and audit-proof.